Permanent Residency in Greece
The routes to a long-term, renewable status
Two paths: the golden visa, a five-year renewable residence permit granted for a qualifying investment with no minimum stay, and the long-term residence permit after five years of actual residence. The financially independent person visa is the route for those with income but no investment.
| Golden visa thresholds | EUR 800,000 in the highest-demand areas; EUR 400,000 in most others source |
| Reduced threshold | EUR 250,000 for restoration or conversion projects, under conditions |
| Golden visa stay requirement | None to maintain the permit |
| Financially independent person | Passive income around EUR 3,500 per month, no work permitted |
| Long-term residence | 5 years of actual legal residence, with a language and integration requirement |
The golden visa after the 2024 changes
Greece raised its property thresholds substantially and made them regional. In the highest-demand areas — Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands above a population threshold — the minimum is eight hundred thousand euros. In the rest of the country it is four hundred thousand. A reduced tier of two hundred and fifty thousand remains for restoring listed buildings or converting commercial property to residential, subject to strict conditions.
There are also non-property routes at lower thresholds: shares, bonds, bank deposits and fund investments each have their own minimum. The permit runs five years, is renewable while the investment is held, and covers the spouse, children and both sets of parents.
The trade-off nobody mentions until later
The golden visa requires no minimum stay, which is its selling point. But naturalisation requires actual residence, and a permit held from abroad accumulates nothing toward it. Investors who assume a passport follows automatically after seven years are mistaken: they must actually live here.
For a second residence in the EU with minimal presence, this is the best instrument in the union. For a route to an EU passport, it is not the shortcut it appears.
The financially independent person visa
For people with stable passive income of roughly three and a half thousand euros a month, increased for dependants, this grants residence on condition that you do not work in Greece. It is the Greek equivalent of Spain's non-lucrative visa and Italy's elective residency, and it is far cheaper than the golden visa for someone who intends to actually live here.
Long-term residence
After five years of lawful residence, holders may apply for long-term resident status, which requires evidence of income, insurance, and a level of Greek language and knowledge of Greek society. It grants indefinite residence with full labour market access.
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Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.